Social Factors

To talk about housing, of course, only deals with a small piece of the overall picture. This is one of the reasons why it is so easy to wring our hands in despair at the complexity of it all.

The solutions to people not being able to buy or rent in the community they work in must come from a much broader context. A few of those broader issues are looked at in this section. Slowly, slowly the pieces come together.

HEALING DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES/COMMUNITIES

Almost all "low income" housing projects have very high ongoing overhead - both from bureaucratic requirements and from dealing with people living on the edge, often with few skills and commitments.

Mandating living wages deals with the "living on the edge" portion, but more compassionate work, community support, and social services are essential to even begin to make inroads on this issue.

Habitat for Humanity in Tillamook County has an excellent model of support and caring for their clients. The NeahCasa Student Family Housing program also connects families with existing services.

ACTION: What if, in the future, there were 1-2 people in North County paid by multiple agencies to shepard folks in need through the maze of all the support systems?